


Cute

by Anonymous



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance, Stevidot, Stevidot Month 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-27 05:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18732196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Peri asks Steven for advice. Stevidot Month, Week 2: Blush.





	Cute

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place between "Too Short to Ride" and "Alone at Sea."

Less than a minute after Steven came home from the Big Donut, Peridot hopped down from Steven’s bed and asked, “STEVEN, DO YOU THINK I’M CUTE?”

Steven stumbled backward and hit the screen door, dropping his bag of doughnuts.

“Oh, sorry!” Peridot rushed to Steven’s side and helped him up. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“How long have you been waiting for me?” Steven asked, wincing as he stood up.

“I haven’t been here long,” Peridot said. “I asked Amethyst if you were home, and she told me to wait here.”

“Did she,” Steven asked while pointing up, “specifically ask you to wait on my bed?”

“No. But I got bored from laying on the couch, so I moved up there. Your pillows smell unusually nice, by the way.”

Steven’s bed was hardly mussed, but the slight imprints made into his covers made him cough awkwardly.

“You were saying, Peri?”

“Hmm? Oh, right!” Peridot reclaimed her train of thought. “Do you think I’m cute?”

Steven’s face flushed. He glanced at the kitchen as he reached down for his bag of doughnuts. Peridot’s hopeful smile slowly receded.

“Steven—”

“I need to set these out to cool!”

Steven hastily pushed passed Peridot and went into the small kitchen. She snarled and chased after him.

“You didn’t answer my question!”

Steven set the bag down on the countertop but was immediately tackled to the ground. He groaned and turned to his side, pushing Peridot off of him. Peridot remained sitting as Steven lifted himself up. He walked past her to get a plate.

“Why is it so important to know?” he asked.

Peridot curled her legs in, hugging her knees. “Because! I seek whatever it is you humans want whenever you’re feeling low.”

“Oh, you mean validation?”

_“Val-uh-day-tion?”_ Peridot sounded as though she was deciphering cryptic hieroglyphs. 

“As in reassurance?”

“Steven, you’re talking in riddles,” Peridot snapped.

Steven laughed as he maneuvered around her. He situated himself one of the stools and dumped his food out of the bag. He looked at Peridot and patted the seat next to him, smiling.

Peridot sighed and sat next to him. He offered her a doughnut, but she declined.

“What’s got you down, Dot?” Steven asked. “Are you and Lapis not getting along?”

“No, it isn’t that,” Peridot said.

“Well, why don’t you think you’re cute?”

“I never said I wasn’t!”

Steven laughed again. “Then why did you ask me?”

Peridot’s face deepened in color. She mulled over her answer as Steven ate one of his doughnuts. Her expression did not wane, and her eyes roamed nervously.

“Because I want you to think I’m cute.”

Steven paused. He contemplated his answer while eating. Before Peridot could possibly panic or take offense, Steven asked, “Why does it matter what I think?”

Peridot stammered, gesturing with her hands before hiding her face with them.

“I just,” Peridot said, “do.”

The thought of meeting Steven’s gaze terrified her, but she managed to peek through her fingers. Steven looked at her for a moment, and then he cleared his throat.

Peridot lowered her hands from her face. “Steven—?”

She didn’t immediately register that Steven reached out to hold her hands. She relaxed and allowed him to do so.

“Of course I do,” he said gladly.

Peridot fixated on their hands. Her eyes were wide and gleaming.

“What made you think I didn’t?”

She broke off from her trance as though someone struck her. “I mean…you made a beeline for the kitchen when I asked.”

“I was caught off-guard,” Steven said, briefly rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry about that.”

Peridot brushed her thumb over his and internalized a hitch in response. Other gems’ touch never felt this warm and inviting, and Steven’s was magnanimously kind to boot.

“I never really noticed it before,” Peridot murmured to herself.

“Huh?”

Peridot flinched, covering her mouth for a moment. “I just…never really appreciated how nice it felt to hold your hand.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” Peridot winced for jumping the gun but nonetheless continued. “Lately, I’ve been thinking more about you. As always, I’m appreciative of your support and kindness. Then, I thought about the little things, like any time you touched my hand or hugged me. I still have the bow you put in my hair when you gave me my screen.”

Steven’s face was as rosy as his shirt. “Wow. I never imagined anyone thinking about me like that.”

“Normally, when someone discovers a dear friend has feelings for them,” Peridot said, smirking, “they don’t respond by running away in fear.”

“Hey!” Steven jabbed her shoulder. “You weren’t a cool cucumber yourself!”

Peridot slapped back, to which Steven laughed and easily deflected her moves. He mimicked her movements, but the fake scuffle dissolved into light laughter.

“So,” Steven asked. “Are you saying that you like me?”

Peridot nodded.

“And by asking me if you’re cute, you want to know if I like you, too?”

Peridot attempted to present an air of integrity. “I understand if you need time to think this over.”

Steven hummed to himself pensively. Before Peridot could leave, he leaned over and pecked her cheek.

“Time’s up!” Steven said with a large smile. “I like you— _and_ I think you’re cute!”

Peridot fell from her seat and collided unceremoniously with the floor. Steven asked if she was all right, and all she said in response was, “Wow…thanks.”


End file.
